Fuck, no. I shake my head, the rage boiling quickly inside of me.
My fingers curl into a tight fist, and without warning, my arm rears back and flies forward. My brass knuckles slam against his face, letting him feel the complete force of my rage. I hit him over and over again, one for each of my people who lost their lives to this sick bastard.
The boys stand protectively around me, and although I know that I should back off and let Cruz have his moment, I can’t seem to stop. My control has completely slipped and there’s no way in hell to rein in my fury.
I keep fighting through the pain, from my sore muscles that slammed down against the hard road, to my head that rocked furiously inside my helmet.
Knox’s face splits with every punch, blood splattering all over me, but when his eyes start to roll, Carver steps in behind me and drags me back with incredible strength. “We still need him,” Carver murmurs in my ear, desperately trying to help me see reason. “You can’t kill him. Not yet.”
I pull against his hold, unable to see anything past the faces of Dynasty’s dead swarming through my mind. Carver pulls me right back against his solid chest, slipping his arm through both of mine behind my back like a tight vice and making it impossible for me to get away. “Breathe,” he murmurs, brushing his fingers up and down my arm. “Focus on my touch.”
I listen to his words, replaying them over and over in my mind, knowing just how important it is to find myself. What kind of leader loses control like this? I need to be able to rein in my emotions. I need to be able to take situations like this and keep my cool. I need to be better.
I sink against Carver’s chest and focus on my breathing, but seeing Knox’s face grinning back at me makes it harder than it should ever have to be. I close my eyes and feel the steady rhythm of Carver’s heart beating strongly against my back, and it’s just what I need to find myself.
My control comes back with the full force of my twisted mind, and feeling that change, Carver eases up on his hold, but he doesn’t dare let go.
I meet Cruz’s stare, letting him know that I’m good and that he’s free to do whatever he needs to do, but Knox keeps his stupid stare locked on me. As I look back at him to see his eyes still sparkling with laughter, my stomach twists all over again.
There’s more.
“What?” Cruz growls, seeing exactly what I’m seeing as Carver discreetly tightens his hold on me again.
Knox’s grin widens and turns into a ferocious sneer, and just as he goes to gloat about whatever the fuck he did, a voice calls out in the bushes, a voice that’s way too close for my liking. “R.H.P.D. Is anyone there?”
Dread sinks into my stomach like a lead weight as my gaze flashes around to the boys. “Keep quiet,” Carver says in my ear as all eyes turn back to Knox who slowly pushes himself up the tree until his feet are under him, more than ready to run.
Cruz looks back at Carver and shakes his head. “They’re too close.”
“Then make it fast.”
Cruz nods and as his hand reaches around his back to take his gun out of the back of his pants, I shake my head and slam my elbow back into Carver’s stomach. His hold eases just enough for me to break free and I rush forward, gripping Knox tight.
“What did you do?” I spit, trying to keep my voice low as I hear the soft crunch of the twigs and branches breaking under the cop’s feet, getting closer and closer.
“Move, Winter,” Cruz hisses and sure enough as I look back over my shoulder, there’s a gun pointed right at my head. “We don’t have time. We need to end him and get the fuck out of here.”
I clench my jaw, the clock ticking all too quickly. My heart breaks as I look at him. “I’m sorry. I have to know. I … I can’t.”
Cruz groans and I see the agony written across his face as I look back at Knox. “Speak.”
“Hello? Ravenwood Heights Police Department. Is anyone out here?”
Fuck.
I push into Knox as the boys grow fidgety around me. “Now,” I growl, the word coming out so low that it hurts the back of my throat.
Knox just grins. “Was Sara good?”
The fuck? “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She fucked you, didn’t she?” he says. “Did you like it? Did you like her fingers inside your body? Her tongue on your dirty little cunt? I bet you did.”
The branches break and the leaves rustle as bodies push through the bushes, searching for us. “Winter. NOW. We have to go.”